from various eras. For example, Bayazid Bastami has many such accounts, colored with mystical flavors, surrounding his life. In one account, he was asked, "They say you walk on water?" "A piece of wood can do that too," he replied. "They say you travel to Mecca at night and return by dawn?" he was asked. "But a bird at flight can do that too" was his answer. "So what is the meaning of being human?" he was asked. "A human is he who does not fasten his heart to anything but God" came his reply. In all such and similar accounts, a certain individual of unusually high rank (a Sheikh, Pir, or Imam) is seen to have the ability to travel long distances in almost instantaneous amounts of time. Views Sunni view Belief in the possibility of such charismata Karamat by saints [Arabic: awliya] (Sufi shaykhs) is a part of classical orthodox Sunni doctrine [aqeedah] as, for example, listed in the Creed of Imam Tahawi (Aqidah Tahawiyyah) and all other orthodox Sunni treatises on religious doctrine and has been accepted as such since the earliest times of Islam. Tay al-Ard is one term used for this concept by the Sufi shaykhs (Sufism being the spiritual aspect of Sunni Islam). Some Sufis call the concept tay al-makan ("folding of space"), the word makan ("location") being used as a synonym for the word ardh ("earth"). Both words are Arabic in origin, and both words are part of the Persian lexicon as well. Shi'a view The concept of Tay al-Ard also appears in Shia text such as the Usul-i Kafi. Shi'a particularly use the concept in the above Qur'anic verse in Shi'a-Sunni argumentations when accusations of over-meriting the Shi'a Imams are made. It is argued that if a non-prophet could teleport the throne, then it should present no theological objections against the belief that a Shi'a Imam, such as Imam Ali, might be able to do the same. Imam Mahdi is widely believed to have a broad arsenal of karamat including this concept at his disposal. Three hundred and one of Mahdi's believed 313 companions also are believed to have the knowledge of this concept. In the Shia academia, this concept is a topic that can be seen widely studied by the likes of Ayatollah Marashi Najafi, Allameh Tabatabaei, and Mulla Sadra. See also Alchemy Astronomy in Islam Bilocation Islamic astrology Karamat Kefitzat